Alpine Cinema

Brooklyn Rob… The Coliseum had mostly English speaking fare, but on occassion they would have a Spanish language film according to a Hispanic friend of mine who lived in the neighborhood. The Terminal, at Dean St. and 4th Av. showed Spanish films near the end of their run- late 60s early to mid 70s. Dont remember a movie house at 4th.Av. and 29th.St. but at 4 th. Av and 16th.St. there is a Strauss auto shop in a building that looks like it was a movie house at one time.The classic theater shape is undeniable. At one time Brooklyn had over 200 movie theaters, but now we are down to a mere 12.

BklynRob— 4 Ave and 29 Street on the west side of 4 and south side of 29? Ja, you’re really jogging my memory. Perhaps. But a third- or fourth-run emporium in any case, at least in the mid-1940s when my memory begins. I’ll consult FDYB.

Yes— On 4 Avenue in the 60s, there was also a used car dealership owned by Jack D'Amico. I always thought it odd that, aside from the Coliseum on 52 Street and the Terminal on Dean Street, 4 Avenue sported no movie theaters. As a kid, I held the firm belief that every major avenue should be lined with movie palaces.

The Vanity: yes! That was there then, and likely the theater that I confused with the Sunset. If it was on the south-west corner of 5 and 56, then, yes, that was the Vanity.

Box office Bill… I checked the “Sunset” in search theaters and came up with another theater on 5th. a. and 56th.st. in the Sunset Park area. It was owned by Interboro and it was called the “Vanity”.This may be the lost theater I vaugely remember from the early 60s.According to the entry, this theater had no air conditioning. Must have been like an inferno on a hot day.They probably charged a little less than average to get in.

I recall as a kid taking the bus to the Alpine to see “Help” with the Beatles. It was a nice big single theatre then,now as a multiplex it is terrible. The last time I was there was about 1990 and it was very bad!I could hear the movie in the next theatre-the walls seemed paper thin.Also it was too small,dirty & very crowded. I never have gone back.

Here’s a photo of the Alpine in 1946. It comes from Brian Merlis and Lee A. Rosenzweig, “Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge and Fort Hamilton: A Photographic Journey” (Brooklyn: Israelowitz Publishing, 2000), p. 131.

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The double feature on the marquee lists “Gilda” and “Blondie’s Lucky Day.” Since the Rita Hayworth classic opened at RCMH on 14 March of that year, the photo was likely shot in the following May.

The cranky kid at the extreme right could very well have been me, since I was approximately his age at the time, and defiantly in character. I would have been pestering my mom to take me to the Alpine, even though we had already seen the feature film some weeks earlier at Loew’s State, where it had moved after RCMH. At the State, “Gilda” was accompanied by a stage show that featured a memorable puppet act, the chief reason (I think) why my parents (bless their hearts) took me to see that steamy film (and people wonder why I behave the way I do).

I just consulted Film Daily Year Book of 1950 again, and found that the Alben is indeed listed (I missed it because, in scanning the columns for a theater on 3 Ave, I failed to see its address printed off-center on the right side). Its address was 5406 3 Avenue (ergo between 54 and 55 Streets) and it held 447 seats. It is not listed in the FDYB of 1954, so it surely did not survive the introduction of widescreen in ‘53.

Theaterat—

Yes— I’ve been following your postings on the Ratz, and have realized that the hole-in-the-wall on 3 Avenue in the 40’s could not have been named the Ritz. That’s was a curious conflation on my part, mixing two theaters in the 40’s, one on 3 Ave, the other on 8 Avenue. But I still retain their images as distinct in my mind’s eye.

Alben: I would never have recalled that name (it’s either cognate with the ancient name for Britain, “Albin” or “Alban,” or else it commemorates a partnership between two guys, Al and Ben? likely the latter, given that time and place). There’s no listing in the Film Daily Year Book of 1950 (I’m certain that it was still operating then).

I dimly recall the Center, but not the Berkshire. I’ll check on them in the Film Daily Year Book when I’m in the library. PhilPhil sounds up to speed on all of it. I moved from Brooklyn in the late 1960s, so have only a phantasized recall of it, enhanced by bookish data.

Ja, ja, ja, die 40’s verr a Nordisk neighborhood — great delicatessens, and a Norwegian language newspaper, Nordisk Tidende, printed on 63 Street and Ft. Hamilton Pkwy, no?

Thany you Box Office Bill! You are a wealth of infomation. I remember the Park, even though I never went there. I remember being in that neighborhood probably in Oct 1965 with a friend. His grandmother(wno was Norwegian) lived in the Sunset Park area.The theater was about to be torn down. We asked the workers if we could go inside and take a look. They told us to be careful.I remember a mid size house with 3 blocks opf seats and a small balcony.Another friend who currently lives on 48th. st off 5th av lived in this area in the late 40s. The theater on 3rd av was called the Alben- not to be confused with the RKO Albee. It was a hole in the wall and showed last run fare. Another friend of mine who calls himself PhilPhil{he does not have a computer, so I post his entries under my screen name}recently described the Ratz..sorry, ment the Ritz on 8th. av and 46th.st Qv. Another nabe. He also recalls the Berkshire on 60th.st and 8th.av wich is now a Muslim mosque, and the Center…never heard of it…on 6th av and 55th.st. I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and experience some of these long forgotten theaters , who knows, maybe someday.

Theaterat — You’re right: the Sunset Theater stood at the southwest corner (or was it northwest corner?) of (I believe) 55 Street and 5 Ave., with its rear-exit wall on the side-street. I’d check the exact address in Film Daily Yearbook. I remember it as a low greystone building, with a blue-neon-framed art-deco-ish marquee. To judge from the size of the building, I doubt that it had a balcony. It probably sat 500 patrons. Its fare consisted of subsequent runs, and its demise might have occured in the late ‘50s or early '60s. I never entered it.
Thanks for recalling the Park. To this kid in the early '50s, the world’s most wonderful secondhand-comicbook-and-magazine store stood a few doors away. It was a terrific treat for me to go there with a few nickles and exit with an armful of vintage comics and mags, especially ones with coverage of WWII.

Box Office Bill….Thank You thakk you.

Box Office Bill….You seem to be a bit older than I. A friend tells me there were movie theaters on 5th Av and 74th St and 3rd Av and 75th St in Bay Ridge. If that is true. please tell me the names and give a description of them, As you can probably see, I am fascinated by them and as a lifetime movie goer and Brooklyn resident, I am trying to compile a complete listing of movie houses in Brooklyn. Thank You.